The most beautiful bridge in the world.

[sethy]

Ever since the dawn of time man has been trying to cross things – oceans, mountains, deserts. It’s in our blood. Of course those are far bigger than anything we’ll see today. Crossing a river with a bridge can’t be all that exciting.

1.The Falkirk Wheel, Scotland



Their is more to this bridge than it’s very futuristic design. This is the worlds first and only boat lift! That’s right, the structure can actually rotate 180 degrees and is equipped with two locks which have 168 m long tunnels that emerge at the ends of the 2 wheels. Boats at the bottom sail into these tunnels, the structure then rotates, lifting the boats up to the top of the canal. The bridges unique way of connect the canals and transporting boats makes it an exceptional feat of modern engineering.

[sethy]

2.Millau Viaduct, France



This bridge is in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the tallest bridge in the world. It stands at an incredible 1,125ft tall to become an engineering masterpiece. The bridge gained international recognition as a major engineering feat and received the Outstanding Structure Award in 2006, one of the most prestigious prizes an architect can win. The New York Times described it as “a triumph of engineering” and the BBC called it “one of the engineering wonders of the 21st Century”. The president of France, Jacques Chirac, opened the bridge in 2004 which cost an estimated 394 million euros, or 524 million dollars. The bridge itself crosses over the Tarn River Valley in Millau and gives drivers some of the most stunning views in all of France, even rising above the clouds on some days!

[sethy]

Siduhe Bridge, China



Opening in 2009, the Siduhe bridge is officially the worlds highest bridge; and probably the scariest for those who have a fear of heights! It is located an incredible 1,627 ft above ground to achieve this record. To get a scale of how high up this bridge is, it is higher than the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel tower, the Pyramids of Giza and the Big Ben. It sits quietly high above a river gorge in China’s Hubei Province surrounded by China’s mountains and greenery. Building this bridge was a challenge because of it’s location. It wasn’t possible to use cranes, boats or even get helicopters up there so the engineers came up with the interesting idea of using rockets instead. Over 1000 meters of tether was attached to the end of a rocket and shot all the way across the gorge to help set up foundations. It’s unique location and unique way of construction show that this bridge will probably remain the world’s highest bridge for years to come.

[sethy]

Octavio Frias De Oliveira Bridge, Brazil



Opened in 2008 and found in the city of São Paulo, It took 5 years to build and 450 workers to build it. The bridge is unusual due to it’s X shaped structure in the middle. Another attribute to this bridge is how it has two levels of traffic crossing one another as they pass through the pylon. The bridge is also decorated in LED lights that create amazing views and on special occasions such as Christmas, the bridge can be lit up to look like a Christmas Tree.

[sethy]

Akashi-Kaikyō Bridge, Japan



One of Japan’s greatest pieces of engineering, this bridge holds the record for bring the longest suspension bridge in the world with a total length of 3,911 m. It would take four Brooklyn Bridges to span the same distance! Opening in 1998, it took 12 years to build and it links the city of Kobe in Hyogo Prefecture to Iwaya in the Awaji Island. Funnily enough it was never built with the intention of being the longest suspension bridge in the world but in 1995 the Kobe Earthquake hit halfway during it’s construction and consequently added an extra 3 ft which gave the bridge its record. The length of the cables used in the bridge totals 300,000 km. That’s enough to circle the earth 7.5 times!

[sethy]

Langkawi Sky Bridge, Malaysia



The Langkawi Sky Bridge can be accessed via cable car. The bridge is a 410 ft-long curved pedestrian bridge above Gunung Matchincang roughly 2,300 ft above sea level. Once you travel up the mountain via the the cable car, the bridge gives tourists the opportunity to view some of the most beautiful sights of the Malaysian mountains and rainforests.

[sethy]

Helix Bridge, Singapore



This bridge across the Singapore river is unique in how it was designed to look like the structure of DNA. Opened in 2010, the Helix Bridge is made mostly from steel and is illuminated at night by ribbons of LED lighting to compliment its unique design.

[sethy]

Moses Bridge, Netherlands

9. moses bridge



Taking a break from the big and grand scale designs, this bridge is appropriately called the Moses Bridge because it splits the water in two…literally. The innovative design was built in a 17th century fortress. The fortress itself was being restored and a bridge was to be built across it but architects, not content with making the fortress so visible to its enemies, had other things on their minds. They decided to disguise it and put it under the moats waterline to make it almost invisible. It sits within the moat and allows people to cross virtually undetected from water level. This artistic design creates a great illusion that your walking through water as the bridge blends in with the landscape. It is entirely made of wood and is waterproofed so there is no worries about getting your feet wet!

[sethy]

Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge, China



01-Danyang-Kunshan-Grand-BridgeWhile the Siduhe Bridge is the highest bridge in the world and the Millau Viaduct is the tallest bridge in the world, this bridge is the longest bridge in the world. It is a jaw dropping 102 miles in length and recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records. The rail bridge forms parts of the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway and as the name suggests it helps link Danyang to Kunshan. Construction started in 2006, took 4 grueling years to be completed and then opened in 2011. The huge project cost an unbelievable 8.5 billion dollars and employed roughly 10,000 workers on site. Over 450,000 tons of steel was used for the structure. This beast of a bridge will probably cement itself in history for a long time.

[sethy]

Stari Most, Bosnia




Stari Most, Bosnia
19. Stari MostQuite literally translated as “Old Bridge” in English, Stari Most was thought to be built in 1566 and managed to withstand the test of time until the bridge was destroyed in 1993 during the outbreak of the Bosnian war. More than $13 million had been spent on rebuilding the 16th Century bridge and surrounding buildings until it was finally restored and opened to the public again in 2004. It is a  tradition for locals to dive off this bridge into the river below and the bridge is also recognized as a world heritage site.

[sethy]

 Magdeburg Water Bridge: 918 m long, 34 m wide & 4.25 m deep



At first glance, the Water Bridge in Magdeburg, Germany, seems nothing special; just another canal bridge. But look again and it’s a water bridge across water, forming a water intersection that is the biggest water crossing in Europe!

The world’s largest water bridge, with a span of 106 m between its pillars, opened in October 2003, on the back of five years of construction, 24,000 tons of steel, and 68,000 m³ of reinforced concrete. Regaining the construction cost of €500 million probably won't take long as the bridge shortens travel times for ships considerably and eases traffic on other routes.

Before the opening of the water bridge, ships moving between the Midland Canal and the Elbe-Havel Canal had to make a 12-km detour through the Rothensee lock, along the River Elbe and back up Niegripp lock. Now the bridge connects Hannover and Berlin directly and also Berlin’s inland harbour network with the ports along the Rhine.

[sethy]

Millau Viaduct, France: 2,460 m long, 32 m wide & 343 m high



The Millau Viaduct in France is the world’s tallest vehicular bridge. In 2004, after 17 years of planning and work, it was finally completed and formed the missing link in the A75, connecting Paris and Perpignan. Cost: Euro 400 million, but that should be recovered fast at a cost of €3.09 for bicycles, €5.50 for cars and €27.50 for trucks (off season). However, according to the web site, the route saves more than one hour when travelling from Paris and almost €50 in tolls. The state-of-the art construction required 85,000 m3 of concrete and used the latest techniques like laser, GPS, sliders, self-climbing formwork, specific surface coats and high performance concrete.

[sethy]

Oresundbridge, 16 km



The Oresundbridge stretches from Denmark to Sweden, with the Danish islands Saltholm on the left and Peberholm on the right; on the horizon is Malmö.

The Oresundbridge (official name: Øresundsförbindelsen) connecting Copenhagen in Denmark and Malmö in Sweden leaves one puzzled, as suddenly a 4-line highway and a 2-track railway seem to disappear into the sea. Is it a bridge? Is it a tunnel? It’s both, making it, what, maybe a brunnel or a tridge? In any case, it's definitely the longest combined road-and-rail bridge in Europe

[sethy]

Erasmus Bridge, Rotterdam, 808 m



The Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam is 808 m long, cost €75 million to construct and was opened in September 1996.

The Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam does not need to hide behind the Oresundbridge as it can boast a record of its own: its southern part is the largest and heaviest bascule bridge in Western Europe and has the largest panel of its type in the world, allowing tall ships to pass. The bridge is nicknamed “The Swan” because of its 139 m high asymmetrical pylon that overlooks the city like the graceful neck of a swan.

[sethy]

Jadukata Bridge, IndiaPhoto: Gammon India



Oresund Bridge, DenmarkThe Erasmus Bridge in RotterdamThe Sutong Bridge in ChinaThe Akashi Bridge in Kobe, Japan
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5. Jadukata Bridge, India

The Jadukata Bridge, the longest span cantilever bridge in India with a central span of 140 m, stretches so naturally from one shore to the other that it seems to grow out of the rich vegetation itself.

Leaving Europe to move further east, we come to the Indian Jadukata Bridge in Ranikor in the West Khasi Hills District of Meghalaya, 130 km from its capital, Shillong. This bridge over the Jadukata river is close to the Indo-Bangladesh border and therefore a vital link on an important road in this border state. Even cost wise, compared to the other bridges featured here, it is a lightweight at €1.5 million.